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Understanding the roles of Alternative Rites of Passage and Public Declarations in FGM/C abandonment: An ethnographic study among the Loita Maasai, Kenya

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  • Van Bavel, Hannelore
  • Partoip, Seleyian Agnes
  • Koyie, Hellen Topishia
  • Parkiswa, Sylvester
  • Maibayu, Daniel
  • Kimani, Samuel

Abstract

This article reports on ethnographic research on ongoing changes in FGM/C among the Maasai community of the Loita Hills, southwest Kenya. The study identified the individual, social, material, and institutional factors that sustain FGM/C in Loita. It then examined how these factors changed under the influence interventions by the nongovernmental organisation S.A.F.E., national anti-FGM/C legislation, school-based education, and religion. S.A.F.E.‘s song performances weakened the social taboo that prevented people from discussing FGM/C; their alternative rite of passage (ARP) made it possible to abandon FGM/C while continuing other elements of the initiation ceremony; the blessing of the ARP by the cultural leadership made not-cutting culturally acceptable; and the public declaration addressed some concerns around the social consequences of not-cutting. Anti-FGM/C legislation drove the practice underground and reinforced its meanings as an ethnic identity marker. School-based education changed people's socio-economic circumstances, facilitating the abandonment of FGM/C without the need to replace it with an LRP. Protestant Loitai initiated their daughters through a religious initiation rite. Together, these influence contributed to the incremental decline of FGM/C in Loita. However, half of the community seems to continue practising FGM/C, because of its meanings that go beyond initiation into adulthood and/or because of continued concerns around the social consequences of not-cutting. Sustained efforts that dynamically adapt to the ever-changing social realities, including potential resurgences in prevalence, can support the community on its path towards total abandonment.

Suggested Citation

  • Van Bavel, Hannelore & Partoip, Seleyian Agnes & Koyie, Hellen Topishia & Parkiswa, Sylvester & Maibayu, Daniel & Kimani, Samuel, 2024. "Understanding the roles of Alternative Rites of Passage and Public Declarations in FGM/C abandonment: An ethnographic study among the Loita Maasai, Kenya," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 359(C).
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:359:y:2024:i:c:s0277953623007694
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2023.116412
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Gibson, Mhairi A. & Gurmu, Eshetu & Chua, Regina & Van Bavel, Hannelore & Myers, Sarah, 2023. "Abandoning female genital mutilation/cutting (FGMC) is an emerging but costly parental investment strategy in rural Ethiopia," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 335(C).
    2. Sonja Vogt & Nadia Ahmed Mohmmed Zaid & Hilal El Fadil Ahmed & Ernst Fehr & Charles Efferson, 2016. "Changing cultural attitudes towards female genital cutting," Nature, Nature, vol. 538(7626), pages 506-509, October.
    3. Bellemare, Marc F. & Novak, Lindsey & Steinmetz, Tara L., 2015. "All in the family: Explaining the persistence of female genital cutting in West Africa," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 252-265.
    4. Gabriel Šaffa & Jan Zrzavý & Pavel Duda, 2022. "Global phylogenetic analysis reveals multiple origins and correlates of genital mutilation/cutting," Nature Human Behaviour, Nature, vol. 6(5), pages 635-645, May.
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